Your Real Estate Life with Michael Harris

Consumers continue to shift shopping patterns online. Sales at U.S. retailers rose in April, and March sales were stronger than originally estimated, painting a stronger picture of American consumers than previously reported. Retail sales increased 0.4%, the Commerce Department said Friday, and were 4.5% higher compared to a year ago. A 0.2% monthly decline for

Core index up 0.1%, softer than expected U.S. consumer prices rebounded in April, bolstering the Federal Reserve’s case for continued interest rate hikes. The consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in April because of higher energy costs, the Labor Department said Friday. This followed a 0.3% drop in the prior month. Energy prices

The Bank of England on Thursday left its key interest rate at 0.25%, meeting widely held expectations. The vote to hold the rate steady was 7-1, with board member Kristen Forbes backing an increase. The central bank left unchanged the size of its asset purchase program at £435 billion ($562 billion) and its corporate-bond purchase

U.S. producer prices showed a broad-based gain in April, which pushed the annual increase up to the largest gain in five years, government data showed. The Labor Department said on Thursday its producer price index for final demand rose 0.5% last month. That was above expectations. Economists surveyed had predicted the producer price index would

The number of people receiving jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in 28 years, the Labor Department said Thursday, a further sign of a healthy labor market. Initial claims slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 236,000 for the week ended May 6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims have now been below 300,000,

Treasury prices slipped, pushing up yields, after producer prices rose and continued jobless claims sank to its lowest levels in more than 28 years, setting up the Federal Reserve to hike rates in preparation for higher inflation.

The economy generated 211,000 new jobs in April, rebounding from a disappointing March and pointing to steady U.S. economic growth ahead. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 190,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4% from 4.5%, a postrecession low last matched in May 2007, the government said Friday. Average wages